RB The themes of the Catalan are coming through loud and clear even for those as innocent of the opening as I am. Last week I was struck by the duel of the bishops along the h1-a8 diagonal and here again the bishops are squaring up. A second theme seems to be recurring: activity on the queenside. Does the Catalan tend to drag play to the queenside, or is it just a quirk of the games we've been looking at? So, armed with this general knowledge, let's see if we can find a way forward for White.

The answer, depressingly, is no. Black's position looks pretty solid. The only weakness I can see is the knight on a6. He'd probably like to play it to c5 but obviously can't just yet. However, he will be able to get it into the game with ...Nc7 and possibly ...Nd5, where it will be very nicely placed. Then, under cover of the bishop on c6, he can double his rooks on the c-file and he'll be fine. Can I stop that, assuming this is the best way for Black to go? I don't see how.

DK Yes, White's activity often takes place on the queenside in the Catalan: that's where the fianchettoed bishop points, where White made his initial pawn moves, and where the queen can easily emerge. As we have seen over the last couple of weeks, defence can be depressing for Black as it is difficult to counter-attack White's solid king position. This game is no different.

Black looks comfortable, but White has a typical Catalan manoeuvre that secures the advantage: 1 Ne1! Bxg2 2 Kxg2. Black must do something about the attacked b-pawn: 2...b6 and now 3 Nd3! prevents Black's knight from entering the game and kills counterplay on the d-file. White is ready to probe on a4 with his queen, so Black tried 3...Qd4, but White took control over the c-file with 4 Qc4 Qxc4 5 Rxc4 and won a beautiful ending. More on the Catalan next week.